The University and Jepson Herbaria (UC/JEPS) at the University of California at Berkeley is the sixth largest herbarium in the United States and the largest at a public university. Current holdings total approximately 1.7 million specimens. UC/JEPS holds the world's best collections of California plants, Pacific South American algae, Philippine plants and South African algae. UC/JEPS has been supported by the National Science Foundation during the past five years to provide additional storage cases for the collections and to assist in the curation of the backlog of unprocessed collections. The University of California at Berkeley is in the process of reorganizing biology and providing new facilities and buildings for the biological sciences. As part of this reorganization UC/JEPS will be moving to temporary quarters. During the stay in temporary quarters, UC/JEPS will continue to work on processing its backlog of specimens, upgrading its storage facilities, and preparing for the move back into renovated space on the Berkeley campus. This project will provide funds to continue curation of the phycological and vascular plant backlogs. In both cases specimens will be processed for incorporation into the permanent collection, for exchange, or as gifts for determination. Two Lab Helpers will be supported to assist with technical tasks associated with preparation of labels, sorting of specimens, filing of collections, and moving the collections and archives. Funds will also be provided for the purchase of herbarium cases to provide a 16% expansion in storage space.
